But as a past sufferer of international sanctions, India, like China, fundamentally dislikes them. They end up penalising the poor citizen, but keep elites in business. We can expect that a further set of UN sanctions against Iran would die at the hands of China and Russia.

Who'll Talk To Tehran

There is also an immediate security concern. Iran controls the strategically important Strait of Hormuz, through which over one-fifth of global oil flows. The US and UK have already sent in six warships to keep these lanes open. For the moment, Iran says it won't choke off that point, but when sanctions start to bite, could that change?

What if Sanctions Don't Work?

Iran has lost four nuclear scientists to targetted assassinations in the past couple of years. And in 2010, the "Stuxnet worm" created havoc inside Iran's centrifuges. We have no way of knowing the true extent of damage, but that the programme was set back was clear.

Iran though is determined to get a nuclear weapon, despite all it's protestations to the contrary. In conversations with the Indian leadership, Iranians said they took away a couple of lessons from current events.

Muammar Gaddafi, who gave up his nuclear programme to the West, died in a "West-imposed" conflict. But North Korea's Kims (the late father and the successor son) remain untouched despite them being serious nuclear bad boys. That, Iranians said, was because North Korea has the nuclear device. The world needs a different narrative if Iran has to be weaned away from its nuclear dreams.